'Made it his own': Tony Mowbray hails young Sunderland star - but reveals one key concern

Tony Mowbray admits he is concerned about Trai Hume's workload and says Sunderland's young defenders must be ready to step in at some stage.

Hume delivered one of his best performances of the campaign in the 3-1 win over Norwich City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, scoring in the first half before making a number of vital defensive interventions in the second as Mowbray's side secured three deserved points.

Hume has been ever-present in the Championship so far this season, which Mowbray says is testament to his impressive development during the last year.

The Northern Ireland international has made the club's right-back spot his own but with Timothée Pembélé taking time to get up to fill fitness, there is little depth behind him.

The return of Dennis Cirkin and the imminent return of Aji Alese will give Mowbray the option of using Niall Huggins off the right in time, but for now Hume will likely have to continue without rest.

Given that Hume is also featuring in every game for Northern Ireland, Mowbray has concerns over a possible future injury even as he relishes the level at which the full back is performing game in, game out for his side.

Mowbray insists he will have to protect Hume at some stage and wants Jenson Seelt and Nectar Triantis to be ready when that time comes.

"Trai has grown into an international footballer now, he's matured a lot," Mowbray said when asked about Hume's excellent display in the Norwich win.

"I remember him knocking on my door during my first few months here, sitting down and having a chat about him wondering when he would get an opportunity. I knew nothing about him when I first arrived, to be honest. I think Lynden was playing right back at the time, and Luke was probably in that conversation at the time as well.

"I told him to be patient, that there would be injuries and therefore opportunities, and to make sure that he was ready to grab it," he added.

"Make me think, 'wow'. That's what happened, Lynden has moved on, Luke is at centre back, and Trai has made that position his own. We roll him into midfield at times and he's more than technical enough to do that job.

"We're really, really happy with him - though we are a bit concerned about how much football he has played. He had two or three three-game weeks on the back of two international fixtures, with another international break in a couple of weeks.

"At some stage Trai will be getting substituted off, and the opportunity for the young centre backs we've got will be there for them, because we've got to be careful that we don't lose Trai to an injury because we've overused him."

Pembélé is expected to be back in action sometime after next the international break, after suffering an injury after rejoining full training earlier this month. The defender had been a bespoke fitness programme following his deadline-day arrival from PSG.